ISIS leader al-Baghdadi's identity was confirmed using DNA from used underwear before his remains were buried at sea
Warning: Graphic content
The remains of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi have been disposed at sea as reports reveal that the US forces confirmed his identity by taking DNA samples from his used underwear and blood.
The ISIS leader reportedly blew himself up after he was cornered by the troops in a dead-end underground tunnel in his Syrian compound on Saturday, October 26. The chairman of the US Joint of Chiefs of Staff, Army General Mike Milley, on Monday revealed that Baghadi's remains were buried at sea shortly after his death.
The US forces had also disposed of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's remains at sea in 2011 after he was shot dead in Pakistan.
The raid conducted by the US troops on the compound where Baghdadi was hiding in Syria came to fruition after years of intelligence-gathering work. Once Washington was informed of the ISIS leader's possible location, the authorities planned the raid on his compound within a hurried 48 hours.
Baghdadi's body was mutilated in the blast and the troops had to dig through the rubble to reach his remains, reports state. The soldiers then conducted a DNA test using a small field kit to confirm his identity.
Syrian Democratic Forces (SFD) General Mazloum Abdi, while speaking to NBC News, said that the terrorist's underwear and a blood sample were used to determine if it indeed was him.
The Kurdish militia leader said that they had an undercover source in Baghdadi's inner circle who had direct access to the ISIS leader. The source reportedly gave a pair of Baghdadi's used underwear and a blood sample to US intelligence sometime this summer. The troops, after the blast in his compound, used the DNA extracted from those samples to positively identify him.
Abdi added that the same undercover source was at Baghdadi's compound at the time of the raid and left with the US forces after.
According to President Donald Trump, Baghdadi's DNA was confirmed to be a match within about 15 minutes on the field. The White House, in a statement, said that Baghdadi was identified both through DNA tests and visual evidence. Reports state that the ISIS leader's head was still intact, and a biometric facial-recognition scanner was used to identify him.
US troops reportedly remained in the compound for nearly two hours after his death and reportedly recovered highly sensitive material about the terrorist group, including information on its future plans, according to Trump. The compound was later leveled as US fighter jets fired six rockets obliterating the place.